In The Tico Times of San José, Costa Rica, Corey Kane noted that while Latin America and the Caribbean have around 9% of the world’s population, the region accounts for more than 30% of global homicides. 

In the Buenos Aires Herald James Neilson argued that “nobody has a solution for the drug-trafficking problem.”  He noted Argentine Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman’s response to the U.S. State Department’s annual survey “of how things are going in the endless ‘war on drugs’,” which said that the drug trade is “making inroads in Argentina.  

The Buenos Aires Herald noted that in its annual Report on Human Rights the U.S. State Department has drawn attention to cases of “torture by provincial police, harsh prison conditions and gender violence,” as cause for concern in Argentina. 

In El Universal of Mexico City Karla Casillas and Valentina Pérez Botero spoke with Renato Sales Heredia, head of the National Anti-Kidnapping effort.  Sales said that the practice casts a “huge dark shadow” over Mexico. 

The Buenos Aires Herald noted that Mexico captured its No.1 drug kingpin Joaquin Guzmán, known as “El Chapo” (Shorty), who has long run Mexico’s infamous Sinaloa Cartel and over the past decade emerged as one of the world’s most powerful organized crime bosses. 

El Espectador of Bogotá noted the capture of the leader of “Los Urabeños” in the Magdalena River valley and Atlantic coastal region, Luis Antonio Medina Murillo, alias “Franco,” also known by the aliases “Frank,” “Tío,” “Profeta,” “Soldado,” “Nelson,” and “Tom.” 

In Colombia Reports of Medellín Steven Cohen noted the beginning of the 20th round of Colombian peace talks in Havana.  Like the round before it, which ended on January 23rd, the 20th round will focus on the cultivation of illicit narcotics, the third in a six-point topic agenda. 

Semana Magazine of Bogotá pointed to increasing threats against journalists in Colombia.  Since 1977, 142 journalists have been killed “in the exercise of their profession.” 

El Heraldo of Tegucigalpa noted in an editorial that over 9,000 young people have died in 16 years.  During the Porfirio “Pépe” Lobo administration alone there were 3,901 violent deaths. 

In El Espectador of Bogotá Armando Montenegro argued that the conclusion of negotiations with the guerrillas will not be the end point, but just the beginning of a series of reforms and initiatives that will be brought forward through referendums, laws, and administrative efforts.